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C.O.W. - #057: Secret Of The Bermuda Triangle - Voting!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------artist: Supervlieg
concept:
"Sir, this is Major Brickle. I'm in a f-18 fighter plane over the crisis area. It seems our information was right sir. We finally
found the thing that caused all the strange accidents in the Bermuda triangle. Actually it's not just one thing, it's probably
a whole new species. We've encountered one and are currently attacking it with all we've got. The creature appears larger
then we initially expected. I tried hitting it with my rockets, but I think I only pissed it off. It seems this creature is extremely
territorial. Ever since we've entered the triangle we are under constant attack from this enormous beast. I fear our carrier is
under severe danger. Nuking the creature might be the only option, thought I doubt we can take it down once the creature
is under water. I spotted several other of these worm like creatures in this neighborhood. Our scientist onboard the carrier have
sent you some info concerning the size of this animal. They based their data on the observations they were able to make
during our attack. That thing is unlike anything we've ever seen before.
It might not be safe for our aircraft sir. These animals, if one can call those things animals, have an enormous reach. I could
only barely pull up to avoid a collision. I don't think the slower bombers will be able to do the same... What do you mean they're
allready in the area? Sir! You must be joking, those planes are in danger! We gotta pull back! Pull back!
This secret of the Bermuda triangle is too big for us mr. President!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------artist: KaWaii
concept:
God created everything. According to our history Adam and Eva were sent to Earth because of their sin. Now, thousands of years later, take a look around. Humans are evolved as they are now. They are everywhere.
This time, the new creature who committed a crime in heaven is named " Bermuda". It's a ball like creature with small and broken angelic wings. Without any mercy, this creature is also sent to the Earth we know.
When Bermuda was sent on Earth, it was still small. It spend it's days hunting for food like fishes in the ocean. Over time, it's growing bigger and bigger. It starts to eat everything it sees like planes and ships.
We humans don't know about it's existence yet, however, we call it's hunting ground " the bermuda triangle" . Just like humans, this creature is evolving. Who knows how the Earth will develops?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------artist: brokk
concept: The Pyramidaminds
Strange things happen in the region known as the Bermuda Triangle. Storms are frequent, ships get lost. Navigation becomes imposible, compases go mad. The region is a bad omen among navigators, nevertheless, sometimes it is impossible to take a different route and one must go through... Some people who have been through the Triangle report the apparition of strange, massive beings, floating among the dark clouds, when the storms rage. Are they the cause of the supernatural phenoma that happens in these sea regions? Some survivors, the religious ones, claim they are angels. Others say they are aliens, or beings from another dimension. Post-trauma specialists dismiss the existance of these beings as merely hallucinations from fear and stress. However, the sightings of them are more numerous each year. The media has begun coverage on the subject.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------artist: cognition.sb
concept: Sarlong
Sarlongs are creatures capable of creating wormholes within and around their bodies. While both sexes can produce wormholes, cross-dimensional travel is a stressful event and only the male can withstand the pressure. Since their home dimension is fairly desolate, the male of the species are required to hunt in other dimensions.
Regularly venturing outside their natural dimension, the males collect raw ore and processed metals for future consumption, transporting them home through internally produced wormholes. When travelling to earth their portals open in the Bermuda Triangle, however, Sarlongs can't survive in our environment for any longer than 40 minutes. This means they have limited time to search for minerals, and can't venture far.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------artist: Blue_Tiger
concept: The Fithlor
A species of galactic wanderers, they roam where they please. Their origins date back to the creation of the Milky Way galaxy. Observed by few, they have been documented to be able to open dimensional gateways in order to travel. They also use these portals, along with their ridiculously long and hairy arms, to forage for food and supplies to aid them on their travels. A healthy Fithlor seems to never age. They seem to be traveling from place to place in search of something to do. It seems that living forever is really boring. Unfortunately for some Fithlor, they have contracted a disease that weakens their ability to travel away from gravity wells. Many have become marooned in solar systems such as ours. Waiting to be rescued, many have been suspected of many strange and peculiar events... such as the destructions of our solar system's fifth planet, leaving an asteroid belt in its place... the misplacement of Earth second moon in 40,000 B.C.E. ... the recent comet impact on Jupiter... frozen yogurt... and most noticeably the mysterious disappearance of ships and aircrafts in the Bermuda Triangle... They mean well, so please don't hate them. They can't help it... You might do the same if you had to live forever, could open interdimensional portals, and just happened to have ridiculously long arms...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------artist: Chuck Wadey
concept:
The secret of the Bermuda triangle is a thriving colony of Penaeus Setiferus Gigantis; perhaps the only such colony on Earth. In layman's terms, we're talking giant shrimp. Much of the mystique of this species stems from they way it constructs it's habitat. This creature has the ability to secrete a protein filament much like a spider's web that it uses to construct the hollow tubes in which it lives. The web tubes reach from the surface of the ocean down to the floor where they affix to deep sea vents. The tube mechanisms conducts superheated water and steam up to the surface and raises the local water temperature considerably. With higher water temperatures, an area of low pressure is created and you see an increase in storm activity. The combination of inclement weather and steam makes for very low visibility which conceals the SetiGig from it's prey. The warm water also plays a role in attracting other sea life, including whales, their preferred food source. The giant shrimp hunt co-operatively anything that comes within reach. They can catch animals and ships with underwater nets and knock flocks of birds or larger flying objects out of the sky.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------artist: Cloister
concept:
The Giant Electrical Crown-Eel lives a very still life on the methane ice-bottoms of the Bermuda. It gets most of its nutrition from deep sediment bacteria, which it inhales and filters through pores all along its body. Only when mating or when disturbed by other electrical sources it ascends to the surface, using a huge amount of energy. Its enormous body consists of large quantities of metal (predominately copper in females, and iron in males), which adds to its already extreme weight. The voltage produced by this species is still unknown. But scientists agree it is the magnetic force produced when these electrical giants mate, that is responsible for most of the strange disappearances and disturbances in the so called Devil’s Triangle.
“…cuando la montaña del infierno, la corona del Diablo, se levante frente a nosotros y el océano se abra.”
Translation: "...when the mountain of hell, the Devil's crown, rose up before us and tore the ocean asunder."
From the log of Pablo Esteban Rodrigues - Captain of the 'La Flora Aqua' 1714.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------artist: Ninth
concept:
The massive Bermuda Taowls spend virtually all of their lives gliding above ocean waters, shedding tons of skin fragments into the air as they flock. This dust leads to the formation of colossal oceanic storms, which the Taowls utilize to conceal the sounds their gargantuan wings as they hunt. Skimming the stormy surfaces of the sea they dominate, Taowls have been known to devour anything they can snatch, from the now-endangered orange sea leviathans to passing schooners. It is unknown why they only populate the area known as the Bermuda Triangle, but there is no indication that anyone hopes they show up elsewhere.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------artist: Stephan_R
concept: The "giant glass dragon" has a rare sensitivity to electromagnetic signals. It can detect strong impulses from around the globe and center in on them from within a few miles. The key to the mysterious Bermuda Triangle, is the silent pulse that the Earth emits in this region which in turn attracts this large and rare species of fish. The Glass Dragon has a nearly 100% see-through body cavity making it almost invisible to the naked eye. Nature has supplied these creatures with an aerodynamic figure, and a mouth set further back from the eyes to give it enough time to match its teeth to its prey while traveling at amazing speeds. On occasion dragons will leap from the ocean surface at the vibration of engines overhead, causing massive tidal waves and sometimes making contact with them. Ships are easily sunken and the electromagnetic impulse that the animals give off is what causes most plane engines to stall and crash. There are never survivors once the animals swarm on the dying signal of an engine, and pull it into the deep.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------artist: Michael Jaecks
concept: Bermudan Hyperferrous Tardigrade
The Bermudan Hyperferrous Tardigrade, also known as the Bermudan Bloodworm does not suck blood itself. It secretes a blood-like ichor which oxidizes metal and creates rust which it then eats, feeding all its metabolic needs, including oxygen. The Bloodworm has no resperatory system to speak of, at least not in the usual sense. A Bermudan Bloodworm's body is over 94% water. Typical adult Bloodworms are 1-2 cm in length, but larger samples have been found.
Related to the common tardigrade, or water bear, the Bloodworm is capable of entering a near death-like state called cryptobiosis. In this state, the Bloodworm is completely dehydrated. The Bloodworm's body becomes as light as ash or smoke and can be carried aloft by the strong winds of the gulf stream. The presence of special sugars in the cell walls of the Bermudan Bloodworm allow it to survive this process. Like other tardigrades, Bermudan Bloodworms are especially hearty, capable of surviving in extreme heat or cold and in the presence of extreme levels of radiation.
Moisture, as little as cloud vapor, can return the Bloodworm to its hydrated, active state. Bermudan Bloodworms attach themselves to ships or planes and quickly metabolize the metal. Planes or ships that are downed in the Bermuda Triangle have the metal in its critical systems or structures eaten through by the Bloodworms.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------artist: yAdam
concept:
The creatures named the Bulwark are considered to be part of the Earth, sustaining themselves directly through underwater volcanoes. Survivors from attacks have seen them rise to devour planes, so initial reports stated that they were at least 1 mile in length. Further attacks and research have concluded that they are closer to 5 miles. Most of the attacks have been on the Puerto Rico trench, which is why people believe they are undetectable. They contract and, considering the appearance of their skin, could be disguised as mountains below the water. The reasoning behind their existence is still unknown, but the most popular theory at this time is that they are a defence system of some kind, possibly protecting a larger organism, or habitat deep under the ocean.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------artist: ArtZealot
concept:
The below is a creature known as a dewdosk. The dewdosk is a creature who is the flesh embodiment of habit. Every day at 7am (pacific time), 12pm, and 6pm on the dime it descends from the stratosphere to hunt for wood or metal which is what it's diet consists of. The dewdosk can consume and be nourished by saltwater, and dirt but hasnt tried either because being such a creature of habit, it would rather keep eating ships and planes that cut up it's insides every time he consumes them, than try something new. It doesn't intentionally kill humans but has ruined many sightseeing flights, and devoured hundreds of immigrants trying to escape cuba on wooden rafts. The dewdosk has lived in the bermuda triangle for centuries, again, being a victim of habit, it doesn't leave the three hundred yard area it has been circling for the past thousand years. Instead, it would rather just keep doing what it's been doing than try something new. The government has known about the dewdosk since the invention of satellite imaging, but would rather not bother it, and just let it control the immigration on the southeastern side of the united states. The dewdosk is three thousand twenty two years old and has two children (not pictured)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------artist: JakkaS
concept: KATUSHHA
„…Katushha is a hunter, but he is not chasing the pray, he is making a trap and waiting…”
Mali Kar, The Black Book, Chapter VII
These demonic creatures possess the unique ability to create inter-dimensional wells. They looks for places where the barrier between the dimensions is very weak and they break thru them like the angler thru the ice surface to make something like air-hole. When the trap is ready, they are waiting for the pray. If any life form with strong soul’s aura will get in the close of the trap, it will be doomed forever. These dark beings are responsible for disappearing of Gruman Avaenger squadron – the Americans bombarding fighters - in 15 December 1946. In those days has born the legend of the Bermuda Triangle…and in those days the souls of the American pilots were sucked out by the Katushha.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------artist: steve_huge
concept: biomagnetic ciliate
microscopic in size, these minute creatures inhabit the area known as the bermuda triangle in their trillions upon trillions.
when appearing, they take on the form of storm clouds... to the naked eye they are indistinguishable from a cloud, due to there minute size (roughly a thousandth of the wIdth of a human hair) and their vast numbers.
they feed on, the biomagnetic energy of humans and so are attracted by its signature... we are not their usual prey, we are just a very unfortunate accident. the reason they only live within the small region of the planet known as the bermuda triangle is because living deep in the waters of the bermuda triangle are vast creatures that have an almost identical signature to that of humans and so they stick to these familiar and abundant feeding grounds.
the ciliates actually spend most off their time deep beneath the sea, living off of these creatures of the deep. but, from time to time, for an unknown breeding purpose, these minute creatures rise to the surface of the water. it is at these times they affect humans causing the "bermuda triangle" effect. once on the surface it is easy for these tiny organisms to become airborne, easily lifted by the wind and so often spotted during storms. the small appendages they would usually use as fins, become ideal wings for movement in the air.
as victims of the bermuda triangle have reported in may day messages "it looks like the storm is coming out of the ocean" "a strange fog has rolled in around the ship" "everywhere i turn the storm clouds seem to follow me" "lightning is contained in the clouds around my vehicle" all these statements are true... they rise direct from the ocean and swarm the biomagnetic source, making it appear a violent storm has risen from the oceans surface to engulf the vehicle. the movement of their wing/fins, create an electromagnetism of their own, this can cause the disruption of equipment and compasses, also causing the appearance of what seems to be lighting within the "cloud"... this phenomenon is actually self made static, caused by the rapid beating of their wings and the rubbing of their bodies, then flowing across their mass, giving the appearance of lightning.
this bio-electromagnetism can also cause disruptions within the brain, causing disorientation and confusion. this is used to hunt the creatures of the deep. extended exposure usually ends in unconsciousness and so for humans, the then obvious accident and demise of any unsuspecting victims.
the final nail in the coffin from these terrors of the seas is the molecular breakdown they cause. whilst swarming an object, their attemtps to extract biomagnetism results in the breakdown of bonds between molecules and atoms as they suck all energy from them... with time they literally disintegrate any object they come in to contact with, leaving no trace the object ever existed.

Usually, even in a field on many fine entries, there's one that kicks me in the gut as especially clever or outside the box or ingenious and that's where my vote goes. Even in an assortment of finer renders or designs, the one that moves me the most (like Jakkas' glowing gubs last round ) gets my vote.

But this round, each of my favorites has something going for it so unique that seperates it from the others its too tough to choose. I want to vote for Ninth because of the awesome scale. I want to vote for Jakkas because of the terrific way he plays with the highly detailed parts and the visual elements that get a more economical treatment. No part is too important, no part is glossed over. The whole thing comes off as so complete... and this is an interesting success for him because I often think he's trying to render every edge as hard as the others. I want to vote for the glass dragon of course, because what a lovely play of transparency. And I want to vote for Chuck Wadley because rules were made to be broken, and what a break from the usual expectations here. Wow. It's like: "what rules? I'm here to kick ass."

I have to spend some time thinking about this.

....five minutes later, edit: Nope. I don't. Its Jakkas. It's definitely the most successfully depicted idea, the prettiest picture and all around just a damn fine painting.

Right now... this round is all about Jakkas and Ninth in my opinion. Stephan R has got a great illustration but the creature is rather plain imo, except for the fact that it's transparant. Chuck's scene is great but there is so much info there... I simply can't tell whether those giant bug-insectoids are interesting or not. Supervliegs action-scene is magnificent, but something whispers teenage poster-warning (perhaps it's the colours or the aircraft)... sorry Supervlieg. (When it comes to my own piece... it falls away unnoticed in this crowd. If it gets a single vote, I'll personally lead the voter straight to the asylum.)

And now....drumroll... My vote goes to Ninth.
(Jakkas's demon wrought some terrible power there for a while, but I have seen many a demon in my days, and its tentacles are a bit too octopussian to suit me. But I don't ever think I've seen such a tasty bird as those grey marauders of the Bermuda. Great work Ninth! Keep it up. (you gifted mother.)

I voted for Ninth, because of the illustration (great colors and mood, and choice of an older ship) and also the description of shedding its skin causing storms which makes sense for airplanes to crash as well.

A tough round, Jakkas, Supervlieg, Cognition, YAdam, Chuck Wadey all turned my head... and good ideas from the rest. Cheers to a good round.

Holy Schmokes! This was a tough one... Everyone had something to bring. I had to vote for Ninth because it was beautifully painted and a great creature design.

Chuck Wadey - awsome work, I love the illustrative quality you have
Cognition.sb, Jakkas, Supervlieg - amazing rendering
Stephan_R - you almost had my vote, it was damn near a coin toss between you and Ninth. Good work on this topic.

holy crap! I hadn't looked at the entries in this topic yet, so wasn't I pleasantly surprised when I came in to vote!!!!

Supervlieg, KaWaii, and Brokk, nice work fellas. Brokk I like the pyramid idea you went with on this one, fits nice with the Bermuda theme.

Cognition.sb, thats awesome! I get the idea there is so much more of the creature that we cannot see, which I think is good and bad. I want to see it, but at the same time the mystery makes it even scarier. Good job.

Blue_Tiger that's hilarious.

Chuck Wadey.... OMG!!! This is exactly the level I am trying to get my art to. How long did you spend on this?

Cloister, not sure I like the spikes at the top, and it looks to tree-ish IMO, but good effort. The rendering is actually not bad, looking at the outline / diagram of the full body, I wish we could see it in a more dynamic pose.

Stephan_R, Michael Jaecks, yAdam, and ArtZealot, strong pieces from all of you. It's always so much fun to see how a topic will go in such different directions.

JakkaS is there anything to say that you havent heard a dozen times before? I mean really man, you are an inspiration to us all, and of course this is another piece for me to add to my Inspirational Art > JakkaS sub-folder. hmmm, you might get my vote too, not sure yet.

steve_huge, I like where you went with the concept, but the rendering should be stronger on the creature and less about the hair. Right now the hair is too distracting, especially since you only have lines drawings of the creatures. Again, good idea though.

And my vote is for.......................................Ninth.

Best illustration / rendering goes to Chuck Wadey, and of course JakkaS came damn close to getting my vote.

Supervlieg - Making an image that dizzying is quite an acomplishment. ...looking away before I fall into it. Congrats.

KaWaii - Though your painting is loose, there's something very sophisticated going on. You could develop into something frightening. I love that you chose to put a little detail in only one of the eyes.

brokk - Main creature rendering feels very pencil and watercolor - I like. I had more useful comments in the other thread.

cognition.sb - A truly alien design. If people feel wierd when they look at it, I'd consider it a good thing. They could be eyes, they could be nipples - it's all good.

Blue_Tiger - Cute creatures. Your environment is set up on a flat plane like a stage set. If you want more realism, your sky and sea will need a stronger gradiation to the horizon and smaller brush strokes into the distance.

Chuck Wadey - Your piece would be good if it didn't suck so much. My advice is to draw better next time. Or get a life.

Cloister - Your creature is very good and your backstory is my favorite. I'm not sure why it's not standing out this week, probably more to do with the pieces around it. I just realized that I've been reading your foreground creature wrong all along: it fades off so strongly at the bottom that I was just assuming that it ends there. Taking more time with it, I realize they're both very long. I know the diagram explains it, but I'm talking about the quick read someone gets when they scroll past.

Ninth - See my comments above for Chuck Wadey.

Stephan_R - This was my early favorite because of its simplicity (the good kind). When I couldn't choose between the amazing renderings of Ninth and Jakkas I went back to creature design and gave you the vote.

Michael Jaecks - It's tough going small when everyone else seems to be competing for hugeness. A tip of the hat to you.

yAdam - Another loose one that works very very well. Great atmosphere. For some reason I kinda wish I hadn't seem the WIP and was just suprised by your final.

ArtZealot - Incorporating floating monsters into our immigration policy is a very innovative and forward thinking approach. Though you didn't get my art vote, you'll have it should you ever run for public office.

JakkaS - I want to lick it.

steve_huge - Cool. Would like to see what you were going to do with color.